About

Artbiogs has been researched and produced by Geoff Hassell with the in-depth knowledge and experience he gained through more than 45 years of being an avid collector and more than 25 years as a reputable art dealer. Geoff, who is well known and equally well regarded amongst the art collecting and gallery community, is also responsible for the definitive publication on Camberwell School of Arts & Crafts.

The amount of reference books and materials available that cover British and Irish art from the late Victorian era to the present is huge. Artbiogs’ aim is to aggregate as much as possible of the salient information found in these books into one place, online. By its very nature, Artbiogs is not, and probably will never be, definitive. New information is always coming to light, so updates will happen regularly. Indeed, we invite you to contact us with any corrections or new information you feel you may have. The professional, i.e. formally trained artists are not separated from the amateur though they are far greater in number. Further, not every artist was British or Irish-born. But where, in our opinion, they have made a contribution to British art culture, they are referenced here. If an artist has never lived or worked into the 20th century or in our opinion contributed to the British art scene, (other than by exhibition) he or she will not have been included in our curricula vitae.

Groups, movements, schools, art galleries and societies have been an inextricable part of the art scene in the UK since the middle of the 19th century. We have therefore referenced, albeit with brief details, both the lesser and better-known of these. The aim of Artbiogs was never to produce an in-depth study, but rather to provide potted synopses that are useful and informative to the dealer, auction house, student, researcher and collector alike.

Also, we feel that many people are often mystified by the strings of letters tagged onto artists' names and the welter of associations and establishments included in their biographies. It is hoped that these specific sections of Artbiogs will make their viewing more meaningful, and, therefore, more enjoyable. Although this is essentially a collection of British organisations, a handful of European schools and movements — such as the Académie Julian and Bauhaus — have been included because it is felt that their influence has played a major role in the direction and development of British art and artists. For the same reason, also included are a number of galleries that were, or still are, recognised for their strong support and encouragement of both the traditional and the avant-garde artists, and whose names crop up repeatedly in the chronicles of the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first-century art in Britain.

Finally, we have included wherever possible a bibliographic reference to the individual artists, societies, schools and movements. These may be a specific biography, monograph, autobiography, reference work or contain examples of an artist's work. Not every book referring to an artist has been included. We would be happy to hear of other books that we might consider for inclusion.